William & Mary 1900-1925

1906, March 5

By act of the General Assembly, all College property was transferred to the Commonwealth of Virginia. This transfer was sponsored by the College with a view toward increasing its resources. On March 8, the faculty accepted the provisions of the act, and on the following day it was approved by the Board of Visitors. A new board was appointed by the governor and "vested with all rights and powers conferred by the provisions of this act and by the Ancient Royal Charter of the College."

1907

The College received a grant of $20,000 from the Carnegie Corporation on the condition it raise a like amount from other sources. This made possible the construction of the first library building, located northwest of the College Building. The cornerstone was laid in 1908.

1911, October 3

The first issue of the student newspaper, The Flat Hat, appeared.

1916

Tyler Hall, a men's dormitory, opened. It was named for John Tyler, 10th President of the United States and an alumnus.

1918, March 15

By an act of the General Assembly, William and Mary became the first coeducational state college in Virginia.

1919, April 12

President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in absentia.

1919, July 1

Julian Alvin Carroll Chandler was named president of the College. Dr. Tyler, whose resignation became effective this day, was made president emeritus. President of the United States Warren G. Harding attended the inauguration of Dr. Chandler on October 19, 1921, and was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

1920, March

Mary Cook Branch Munford became the first woman member of the Board of Visitors.

1920, September

First-year law courses were reintroduced (the law school had been closed in 1861). A full three-year program began in 1923 in the School of Jurisprudence, a subdivision of the Marshall-Wythe School of Government and Citizenship.

1921

Jefferson Hall, a women's dormitory, opened. It was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and an alumnus.

1921, January

A second series of the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine was begun under the managing editorship of Dr. Earl Gregg Swem, librarian. During the 23 years of its publication, the Quarterly was instrumental in stimulating the development of the College and the library.

1922, January 14

The Marshall-Wythe School of Government and Citizenship was inaugurated.

1923

A gift of $130,200 by Mrs. George Preston Blow in memory of her husband, Captain George Preston Blow, U.S.N., enabled the College to construct Blow Memorial Gymnasium, completed early in 1925.

1923, February 8

The College Mace, a ceremonial ornamented staff and symbol of authority, was presented to the College as a gift of faculty, students, alumni and friends.

1923, February 21

The Society of the Alumni was incorporated under the leadership of William and Mary President Julian A.C. Chandler. The incorporation created a board of managers to guide the society's progress and also inaugurated efforts to accumulate alumni records and files systematically.

1924

Monroe Hall, named for James Monroe, fifth President of the United States and an alumnus, opened as a men's dormitory.

1924-1927

During this period, the Reverend W.A.R. Goodwin, D.D., professor of biblical literature and rector of Bruton Parish Church, was chiefly responsible for securing the support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in restoring Williamsburg to its 18th-century appearance. Dr. Goodwin had conceived the restoration project during his first rectorship at Bruton Parish, 1903-1907.

1925, September 22

The Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health, founded in 1917 and first affiliated with the College in 1920, became a division of the College. It was renamed the Richmond Professional Institute in 1939.